Audi quattro vs Opel Monza FF: all-weather warriors

By Charlie Calderwood

| 23 Jan 2024

Classic & Sports Car – Audi quattro vs Opel Monza FF: all-weather warriors

Tanks, artillery and chemical weapons, not all-wheel-drive sporting coupés, were what AJP Taylor had in mind when he declared that war has “always been the mother of invention”.

And yet both of these tractively enhanced protagonists directly owe their existence to the Cold War on the North German Plain.

Agricultural machinery magnate Harry Ferguson’s switch to cars with the Freddie Dixon- and Tony Rolt-developed Ferguson Formula is well documented, thanks to the continuing following enjoyed by the Jensen FF, but by the late 1970s that technology was in new hands.

The Audi quattro proved the value of four-wheel drive in a performance car

GKN had bought the rights to sell the concept at scale, which it duly did to AMC for the 1980 Eagle.

Meanwhile Rolt – of both Colditz Castle escape glider and Le Mans-winning fame – retained the rights to create low-volume conversions.

For the Monza’s existence, we must thank BRIXMIS.

That sounds like some sort of festive celebration of Britain’s exit from the EU, but the British Commanders’-in-Chief Mission (which supposedly forms BRIXMIS as a military-speak acronym) to the Soviet Forces in Germany was in fact a decades-long espionage effort that involved teams of officers engaging in off-road car chases across East Germany.

The Opel Monza was converted to four-wheel drive with Ferguson Formula technology

Dating back to an agreement signed in September 1946, before the Western Allies had fallen out with the Soviet Union, BRIXMIS was a liaison unit stationed in Potsdam, East Germany, officially tasked with supervising the Soviet occupation.

The opportunities for espionage were irresistible, however.

BRIXMIS had a team of military observers not only with official permission to be there, but also with a believable cover story to drive around the country taking notes on every military asset they saw.

The Soviets were aware of what BRIXMIS was doing, but could only react with force if they found undeniable proof.

This Audi quattro’s WR ‘five’ is a touch unrefined; later units were better

Speeding away from any Soviet soldiers, on-road or off, was the usual solution if things got sticky.

BRIXMIS first turned to FF to build a batch of 4WD Opel Admirals in the 1970s, then, in 1980, it ordered 30 Opel Senator FFs.

Faster than the Range Rovers BRIXMIS also used, the Senator was more reliable, better on fuel and much less conspicuous.

Once given the ability to go off-road, it was the perfect car for the job.

The Opel Monza FF’s dependable but thirsty 3-litre ‘six’ is good for 180bhp

In all, 67 Opel Senator FFs were built, with the conversion also offered to the buying public. The Monza FF soon followed.

“It was a natural progression,” says Stuart Rolt, Tony’s son and one of the leading figures at Ferguson Formula Developments in the 1980s.

“People said the Monza was a sexier car.

“Dad was driving around in a Senator while I drove the Monza. It was a cooler car for the private customer.”

The first UK-bound Audi quattros were left-hand drive; this 1987 RHD car has some aesthetic differences, but is mechanically the same underneath

This example, XOW 5V, was Stuart’s original demonstrator.

Both the Senator and the Monza suited the conversion in that their suspension – MacPherson struts up front and semi-trailing arms to the rear – required no major modifications, but it was more than a case of some extra differentials bolted underneath.

The system’s basic design is similar to that of the Jensen, with an improved version of FF’s viscous coupling mounted behind the gearbox to send drive both forward and back.

The Opel Monza FF has more of an air of GT about it

The front propshaft runs off-centre to a differential on the nearside of the engine bay, which then sends power to the offside wheel via a driveshaft that goes through a modified sump pan.

A new front subframe is required for all of that, as well as a remodelled floorpan, while the brake servo was also modified to accommodate the FF system’s anti-lock functionality.

Surprisingly, the extra 121kg detracts little from the performance.

The Opel Monza FF’s cabin has velour upholstery and wood-effect trim

The Monza’s three-speed automatic is a leisurely transmission that softens acceleration from rest and probably masks some of the difference.

More impressively, when pulling out of a wet, gravelly junction, you can lean on the throttle much harder than you first expect.

A standard Monza tends towards oversteer when its limits are reached, but the FF tames this.

The torque split is 36:64 front to back, so if a wheel does slip, it will be at the rear, and it still feels much like a rear-drive car in terms of its balance – but its limits of adhesion are higher.

The Opel Monza FF has very period dials

Ferguson’s anti-lock braking set-up feels a little odd at first.

It’s not as sophisticated as the Bosch system that became commonplace later in the 1980s, and it won’t prevent 100% of lock-ups, but it does nearly as good a job.

The pedal is quite spongy, as if the car is low on brake fluid, but a few tests on wet roads prove that there is proper stopping power, and you can feel it modulating pressure through the pedal when the Opel runs over some of the mud a tractor has dragged on to the road.

The Opel Monza FF’s three-speed auto ’box is short-geared

The quattro’s story is more familiar.

Audi’s experimental running-gear engineer Jörg Bensinger was keen to put four-wheel drive into a performance car, but had to wait until another project in the Volkswagen Group portfolio developed an all-wheel-drive system that could be raided for parts.

A request from the German Bundeswehr for a cheap, light off-roader created that opportunity with the Iltis, spiritual successor to the WW2 Kübelwagen.

Although badged as a VW, the Iltis was developed by Audi and made use of the longitudinal engine/gearbox front-drive layout inherited from NSU that was both well-suited to adaptation to four-wheel drive and which underpinned the entire Audi range.

The Audi quattro’s sporting nature is accentuated by low-speed recalcitrance

Just two years after Iltis production began in 1978, the quattro arrived in showrooms in November 1980.

The body came from the 80 Coupé, which had been launched earlier in the year, while the turbocharged 2144cc five-cylinder engine, already seen in the Audi 200, gained an intercooler and a more sophisticated engine management system to boost power to 197bhp.

Thanks to its Iltis origins, the biggest technical difference between the quattro and the Monza is how the Audi distributes its power, with a manual-locking centre diff splitting it evenly 50:50 front to back.

‘For the Opel Monza FF we must thank BRIXMIS, an espionage effort during which officers engaged in off-road car chases’

That’s better when the going gets really rough, although lack of ground clearance, not traction, is the limiting factor in both cars’ off-roading ability.

On the road, however, the Audi’s simple 4WD gives it a more snappy nature.

It has higher grip levels, helped even more by its lighter weight, but it doesn’t have the progressive slip at the back that the Monza’s rear-biased set-up provides.

The Audi quattro’s interior is austere but well finished

Audi later acknowledged this shortcoming with the Torsen differential fitted to the 2.2-litre ‘MB’ series quattros of 1988, which could send as much as 75% of the power to the rear.

This also reduced understeer in the dry, but we had little experience of dry roads in our time in the car, much less dry understeer.

The predictability and well-communicated limits of the Monza’s four-wheel-drive system reflect the car’s general strengths compared to the quattro.

It’s the more luxurious GT, with velour upholstery and wood-effect trim where the Audi offers stark blacks and cloth seats, but it’s also better to drive at low-to-medium speeds.

The Audi’s high-tech displays are a world away from the Opel’s traditional dials

Its ride is comfier and better insulated, while the syrupy, linear power of the big, naturally aspirated ‘six’ is ever-present.

It’s more than just a case of sports car versus GT, however; that would be unfair on the Opel.

The Monza’s low, wide stance and excellent vision make it feel faster, or at least easier to drive fast, when you’re running at a merely brisk pace rather than the full ten-tenths.

The quattro, in comparison, can feel a touch agricultural at low speeds.

The Audi’s gear throw is a bit too lengthy

Pottering around in the Audi reveals gearshift and clutch actions that are a bit too lengthy and a steering wheel that’s a bit too large.

The ’80s turbo lag hardly engenders a smooth experience, either.

It’s when you start to push harder, however, that the quattro shows its talent and brilliance.

The engine offers an addictive punch when the turbo is kept on the boil, while the gearshift’s slight clumsiness isn’t detectable if you’re hammering home the changes.

The Opel Monza’s FF conversion gives a subtly rear-biased balance and enhanced traction in all weathers

Its ride is well suited to bumpy UK roads: firm, yet compliant enough to be able to tackle the road without constantly scanning the surface.

That means some roll, but it pitches from side to side fluidly, as if bouncing on its toes like a boxer.

The way the front end pulls through a bend, even when the inside front corner is starting to lift towards the sky, is an addictive and unusual experience for those used to two-wheel drive.

‘Push harder and the quattro shows its talents, the engine offering an addictive punch when the turbo is on the boil’

Where the quattro really shows a clean pair of heels to the Monza, though, is in its power.

Already lighter than the Opel (all-wheel-drive kit or not), its turbocharged engine provides 17bhp more than the relatively lazily tuned Monza 3-litre.

The Opel’s power is a bit more tractable, but there is no making up those numbers, and indeed it was the Monza’s lack of punch compared with the Audi that many contemporary road testers felt failed to justify the conversion.

Just six Opel Monzas received this four-wheel-drive conversion

At the time, the suggestion was that a four-wheel-drive sports coupé should be a serious performance weapon; today, all-weather, all-wheel-drive coupés are far more commonplace, so perhaps FF’s Monza was ahead of its time: only six were built.

You could forgive FF for feeling Audi stole its thunder with the quattro, but when interviewed by Motor in 1981, co-creator Rolt expressed significant, if qualified, admiration for the German car: “Audi has picked up what we’ve been preaching.

“The quattro is a brilliant adaptation. But I don’t think they’ve got it absolutely right in having a 50:50 torque split.”

The Audi quattro’s five-cylinder engine sends a rorty growl through the twin tailpipes

The conversion on the Opel wasn’t cheap, either: the FF conversion cost £5500, making for a total of £19,363 if you had just bought a brand-new Monza.

Audi would sell you a quattro (admittedly in left-hand drive only at first) for £14,500 at the time.

Despite its limited numbers, Stuart still considers the Monza FF to be a success, 40 years on.

“I remember demonstrating to rally teams, using the Monza,” he says. “That was a huge part of our business. Having the Monza to show the merits of the viscous coupling was pretty important.”

The Audi quattro (right) is lighter and more powerful than the Opel Monza FF, and grippier in turns, but it’s less progressive at the limit

FF Developments would have surely hoped to do more than six Monza conversions, but the role it played in establishing the company’s ability to build effective and reliable sporting four-wheel-drive systems was crucial.

The Ford RS 200, Sierra XR4x4i and Escort RS Cosworth used the FF set-up, and by the early 1990s all the teams lining up on WRC stages except Subaru made use of the FF team’s technology and expertise, if not always its hardware.

Images: Max Edleston

Thanks to: Jim Hoff, Derek Underwood and the quattro Owners’ Club

The more Opel Monzas, the merrier

Jim Hoff likely owns three quarters of the remaining Opel Monza FFs

Lincolnshire farmer and enthusiast Jim Hoff owns three of the six Monza FFs built, including XOW 5V, the ex-Stuart Rolt demonstrator.

It was the first Opel FF he bought, after he saw it for sale on a garage forecourt in Nottingham in ’89, initially assuming it to be a car someone had stuck Ford Sierra or similar 4x4 running gear underneath.

“I had only heard of the Jensen FF, I didn’t know they had done a whole string of cars after that,” says Jim.

“I looked at all the documents and it was very interesting. So I bought it for that reason only, really.”

With a garage housing four Aston Martins, a shed full of Fiat Pandas and his Opel Monzas, Jim’s taste in cars is eclectic, and the Monza FF satisfied his desire for something unusual to sink his teeth into.

Two further FFs have found their way to him, including the only remaining manual, a silver A2-series car (above, centre).

The Opel’s Ferguson Formula four-wheel-drive system sends 64% of drive to the rear

The second manual was written off in an accident. Of the other two surviving FFs, one has been missing for years after it was stolen.

Jim’s collection makes up three quarters of the likely remaining cars, therefore, and he has a supply of spares to keep them going: “I displayed the car at the NEC in 1993 and Major Rolt approached me. He ended up giving me a load of spares.”

A full Senator FF engine and drivetrain sits on a pallet in one of his sheds, but it’s the general Opel Monza parts that prove to be the biggest trouble for Jim today.

He has more Monzas than functioning MAF sensors, while he has had to get faulty brake calipers repaired at great expense, being unable to find replacements.

Factfiles

Audi quattro 10v

Sold/number built 1980-’91/11,452
Construction steel monocoque
Engine iron-block, alloy head, sohc 2144cc ‘five’, with turbocharger and fuel injection
Max power 197bhp @ 5500rpm
Max torque 210lb ft @ 3500rpm
Transmission five-speed manual, 4WD
Suspension independent, by MacPherson struts, anti-roll bar f/r
Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes discs, with servo (and Bosch ABS from 1984)
Length 14ft 5in (4404mm)
Width 5ft 8in (1723mm)
Height 4ft 5in (1344mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 3in (2524mm)
Weight 2844lb (1290kg)
Mpg 19
0-60mph 7.3 secs
Top speed 135mph
Price new £14,500 (1981)
Price now £20-60,000*

Opel Monza FF

Sold/number built 1981-’86/six
Construction steel monocoque
Engine all-iron, single-cam-in-head 2968cc straight-six, electronic fuel injection
Max power 180bhp @ 5500rpm
Max torque 183lb ft @ 4200rpm
Transmission three-speed automatic, 4WD
Suspension independent, at front by MacPherson struts rear semi-trailing arms, coil springs, telescopic dampers; anti-roll bar f/r
Steering power-assisted recirculating ball
Brakes discs, with servo and anti-lock
Length 15ft 5in (4690mm)
Width 5ft 8in (1730mm)
Height 4ft 6in (1380mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 10in (2680mm)
Weight 3287lb (1491kg)
Mpg 17
0-60mph 9.7 secs
Top speed 124mph
Price new £19,363 (1981)
Price now £50,000 (est)*